115 Information Ministry Staff Refuse to Work for Myanmar Junta
By The Irrawaddy 3 March 2021
YANGON — A total of 115 Ministry of Information staff say they are refusing to work for Myanmar’s military regime and have joined the civil disobedience movement.
A statement on Wednesday said staff based in Naypyitaw and Yangon from the Myanmar Alin, Kyemon and Global New Light of Myanmar newspapers and the Myanmar News Agency (MNA) and Myanmar Digital News – which are under ministerial control – stopped working on Feb. 8.
The staff said they only want to work for a democratically elected government and are not resigning or failing to do their duty but instead standing against the military takeover.
They said they would return to work only after a democratically elected government returns.
MNA editor U Ye Khaung Nyunt posted on Facebook that he faces an investigation amid accusations he breached civil service regulations after he refused to go to his office.
The ministry is being controlled by the military-appointed U Chit Naing. He is a former military officer and uses the pen name “Chit Naing (Psychology)”. Since he took over the ministry, the newspapers have been filled with pro-military articles, including orders for independent media not to use “coup”, “military regime” and “junta”.
Thousands of civil servants followed medical staff on strike against the military regime. In mid-February, the junta urged civil servants to return to work and threatened legal action under the civil service code of conduct.
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